CHEER Announces Spring 2026 Pilot Award Grantees
The Center for Health, Energy, and Environmental Research (CHEER) recently announced their spring 2026 Pilot Grant Award recipients. These awards recognize outstanding Community-Researcher Partnership teams whose innovative projects have the potential to make a significant impact on climate and health research while responding to urgent public health needs of communities in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Selected Projects
The health impacts of a wet basement: Exploring the connection between flooded homes and respiratory complications
Northwest Side Community Development Corporation (NWSCDC) & UW–Madison Wisconsin Sea Grant
Carrie Malone (Wisconsin SeaGrant); Adam Bechle (Wisconsin SeaGrant); Sarah Bregant (NWS-CDC)
This project will explore the connection between flooded basements and long-term breathing problems, like asthma, in Milwaukee’s Northwest side neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are especially vulnerable to flooding, receiving some of the worst of the damage from the recent 1000-year flood in Milwaukee last August. Led by Northwest Side Community Development Corporation and UW–Madison SeaGrant Researchers Carrie Malone and Adam Bechle, this project will utilize quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the impacts of stormwater management strategies on reported wet basements, damage reports, and respiratory health. The affected community will be involved in the data collection, rain barrel and rain garden installation, distribution of de-humidifiers, and follow up workshops with the community.
Partnering Community Perspectives with Data-Driven Screening to Identify Actionable Air Pollutants Influencing Preterm Birth in Milwaukee
Clean Wisconsin & UW–Milwaukee Zilber College of Public Health
Amy Kalkbrenner (UW–Milwaukee); Paul Mathewson (Clean Wisconsin); Kayla Rinderknecht (Clean Wisconsin)
This project will explore the impacts of air pollutants on preterm birth in Milwaukee and the distribution and impacts of these across different neighborhoods and communities within the city. Researchers will connect air quality data covering hundreds of pollutants with birth data from Milwaukee families from 2019-2022. Clean Wisconsin will hold community conversations to share the findings from the research group and to hear directly from residents about local pollution concerns. Together, the data and community knowledge will help prioritize air pollutants and their sources to guide future efforts to improve the health of Milwaukee’s babies and families.
Quantifying the Impact of Milwaukee’s Green Infrastructure on Public Health under Current and Future Climate Scenarios
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) & UW–Madison
Aaron Alexander (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering); Daniel B. Wright (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering); Mutlu Ozdogan (Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies); Annemarie Schneider (Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies); Wenwen Cheng (Department of Planning & Landscape Architecture); Courtney Vanorio (Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies); Matthew T. Magruder (MMSD)
This project will use advanced atmospheric methods and climate models to understand how well different green stormwater infrastructure methods can mitigate heat by reducing ambient air temperatures experienced by Milwaukee residents under current and future extreme weather conditions. Along with detailed land cover and shade data, vulnerability indexes across the city, the project will support decision making for MMSD to be able to prioritize projects that will have the greatest impact for stormwater and heat to improve resilience for communities across Milwaukee.
Read more about the projects, pilot grant program, and selection process on the CHEER website.